Album Review

The Nihilist

8th April 2014

In a happy coincidence, The Nihilist marks the second time this year a member of New Zealandâs first family of music has released their third solo record. Hot on the heels of Papa Finnâs Dizzy Heights, the heir apparent has just unleashed his mind bending, genre defying opus. Recorded almost exclusively by night in a Manhattan apartment and teased to live audiences earlier in the year, The Nihilist represents a complex and at times indecipherable collection of the most compelling music Finn has produced.

Reputedly, no less than 67 different instruments were used in the creation of The Nihilist , a number which sounds feasible given the sheer amount of layering and almost frivolous use of sound and texture from start to finish. The result is far from fatiguing however. Like a 12 track degustation, each bite of each song offers up something different. The subtle grand piano of âHelena Bonham Carterâ for instance gives way to fuzzy guitar and chaotic cityscapes in the magnificent âBurn Up the Roadâ without missing a beat and itâs these bursts of flavour that keep you from putting the record down as well: the synth bursts of âMiracle Glanceâ, the lo-fi drum machine-gun attack of â4 track Stomperâ and the dreamy open string sing-a-long of âSnug as Fuckâ.

Thematically, Finn appears to have settled on being unsettled. While the insecurity and nervous jokiness of Iâll Be Lightning and FOMO remain, this sentiment is now somehow assured and even buoyant. The isolation of New York has seemingly offered the songwriter both inspiration and a justification for his particular brand of eccentricity. The Nihilist is Finnâs most disparate, least complete and his most ambitious record then. Luckily, itâs also his best.